adding some new additions. First is a Cast aluminum dirigible I just acquired and have not been able to find any history on. It is approx. 13" X 1 3/4", which makes it almost perfectly proportioned to the real thing. The Graf Zeppelin is of the same type as the infamous Hindenburg, but the LZ127 was built first and traveled over one million miles and was retired when the Hindenburg exploded.

Craig, I'm so glad to see someone else on this site. Beautiful bank....these were also make by Hubley but the tail was connected to the rear left foot. I would also investigate Arcade. They used the red for some of their banks. More pictures, especially the underside and the seams would be helpful, also dimensions are extremely helpful.

Here are the new pictures, all shot under the same lighting, that will hopefully show what I was trying to explain earlier. A couple of additions to what I wanted to tell you first: 1) please look over the seams very carefully. They are extremely close and ALL the seams will have almost no gap that you can even put a single sheet of paper between even if the seams are not filled with paint. 2) The weight is also important. The earlier they are the heavier they are but will rarely exceed 76 ounces even with full paint. (paint will add 5-6 ounces) The later they are (closer to WWII and less availability to raw iron) the lighter they become. As an example, My "newest" one weighs in at 65 ounces with full paint. My "earliest one weighs in at a little over 75 ounces with full paint and the ones in-between weigh in between 70-75 ounces with most coming in at 72-73 ounces with full paint. Most reproductions will exceed these weights by quite a bit. 3) the actual dimensions are consistent. They are ALL 6 1/8" tall (top of folded ear) x 8 3/4". reproductions tend to be slightly smaller.

Vicki, Thank you for your kind comments on my collection. It's nice to have someone who can appreciate what I think are beautiful items.

You asked me how I evaluate my cast iron English Bulldog banks so I'll give you what I look for, but first let me state that I'm not an expert but at this point I do believe I may be on the right path.

First, The English bulldog banks of this style are ALWAYS three (3) pieces (a left, right and belly piece) held together with one (1) flat head straight screw.

Second, The quality of the casting is of the highest quality. It will be a very smooth exterior (whether painted or not) with NO noticeable "pebbling" or "sandy" on the finish. The coin slot position will always be on the back directly above the screw and NEVER on the head.

The paint is a little bit tougher, depending on when they were produced. I have found 3 distinct styles but they ALL were airbrushed and their painters were artists or at minimum they painted enough of them that they turned out a very consistent high quality product. Let me be a little more specific about what I mean by the three styles I have found.

The first style (what I believe to be the oldest) Had a primer coat that was brushed on and was pretty heavy. It seems to be designed to fill in any gaps in the pieces (of which there is very little) and it also covers the screw entirely. Under very close inspection you can see the "brush strokes" under the poly-chrome paint. The paint itself is airbrushed so there are no sharp lines between the different colors. and it will very muted colors for the collar and usually has a a soft rose color inside the jowls and maybe a bit of that same color above the teeth. The eyes of all I have seen are completely black with no iris color.

The second style, and what I have found to be the most common, seem to lack the heavily brushed primer coat. I can not see brush strokes so they either use a less thick primer or made the switch to spraying the primer coat also. the pattern of the colors seems to be more standardized and again it is airbrushed with No hard edges. The collars are almost never painted that I have seen. AND the eyes, can't forget the eyes, are beautiful. The iris of the eye is a brownish/gold with a black pupil and they are beautiful and almost human.

Third, and what I believe to be the latest have the prettiest faces of them all. The muzzles are darkened, the teeth are more pronounced And the eyes, who can forget the eyes, are riveting. The iris can be orangy with black pupils. Sounds strange but looks beautiful. Again collar is not painted and the rose color seems to have disappeared from the jowls but the rose color in the mouth, above the teeth, is replaced with a pinker color.

I'll put in some head shots to try and show the progression as I see them.